


Chasing Freedom

by Missingwings



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Past Medical Torture, Political intrigue?, Post-Canon, Slow Build, i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 02:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12974274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missingwings/pseuds/Missingwings
Summary: SOLDIERs are being targeted, and the restlessness of the people have pushed the WRO into action. To protect themselves, SOLDIERs go into hiding. They have to decide what to do about the WRO, and, more importantly, the pro-Planet anti-Shinra extermination group working behind them. With the Turks playing both sides to figure out what’s going on and Avalanche’s hands tied, Cloud, Genesis, and Kunsel are racing against time to discredit the group before they and everyone else is killed.





	Chasing Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> This was heavily inspired by Beloved by Sinnatious (Go read it. It’s amazing. It’s on AO3). As several people have said, there aren’t enough post-DOC fics. There especially aren’t enough post-DOC Genesis fics. Or Strifesodos fics.  
> And I still love with the idea of people getting nervous about all the SOLDIERs still running around, and Cloud having to deal with the WRO attempting to bring all the SOLDIERs into protective custody.
> 
> Cloud disapproves.
> 
> So do the other SOLDIERs.
> 
> I have so many ideas… But I’ll be going about this completely differently than Sinnatious. Because… well. Spoilers. You’ll have to see.
> 
> Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FFVII, not me. I’m just messing with the characters.

Cloud leaned close over Fenrir as he sped along the road back to Edge, eying the many hidden spots along the sides. Monsters were still a problem, even if they had lessened in both strength and numbers since the destruction of the Mako reactors, and he knew better than to let his guard down.

Plus the uneasiness that had settled in his gut a few days ago was bothering him.

His goggles protected him from the worst of the wind, allowing him to keep an eye out without too much hinderance, or many blind spots.

Though it appeared that the monsters were all elsewhere today.

He made it into Edge easily enough, without suffering any attacks. He kept an eye for civilians on the road, but they appeared to have the sense to stay off the road and away from oncoming traffic for once. The sun was out, most of the remaining clouds formerly around Midgar having been driven away by Vincent’s fight with Omega a few months previously, and the air was comfortably cool. By all rights, it was a beautiful and perfect day.

So why did he feel a knot of cold dread in his stomach?

He shook it off as he walked into Seventh Heaven, though he didn’t forget it. He’d learned long ago to trust his instincts, he wasn’t about to stop now.

“Cloud! You’re back!” Denzel waved from behind the bar, wide smile on his face.

Cloud returned the smile with a small one of his own. “Denzel. How have things been?”

The boy shrugged slightly, brown hair falling into his eyes to hide their bright blue sparkle. The flecks of green within them danced as he answered, “Pretty good. Our regulars are coming in, the Turks come in pretty often, Reno keeps flirting with Tifa, she keeps hitting him upside the head, and Avalanche keeps in contact. The normal.”

Cloud’s lips quirked slightly at Denzel’s definition of ‘normal’. “Is that so? What about school?”

Denzel made a face.

Cloud raised a brow.

Denzel grimaced. “It’s… fine. I just… don’t really agree with some of the things that the teachers say. Some of them are sympathetic to ShinRa which I don’t really agree with, but I don’t mind too much. But there are some of them…” He scowled down at the counter. “They’re extremely anti-Shinra, to the point of bad talking some of the more well-known people who used work for them.”

Cloud understood. “SOLDIERs and Turks.”

“Yeah,” Denzel huffed, grabbing the cleaning cloth and attacking the bar with a vengeance. Cloud watched him sympathetically.

He knew Denzel looked up to him, and he did his best to be a good role model. But because of what he was, who he used to be… it came with issues. And thanks to how often the Turks came in, to the point of practically being regulars now, Marlene and Denzel had both become rather fond of them. The Turks returned the favor, and there had been many times where they’d come in and handed something to the kids.

Marlene had an entire shelf dedicated to seashells from Costa Del Sol that the Turks brought whenever they were in the area.

Denzel had an entire bookcase for materia for his collection that _someone_ kept giving him. Denzel refused to say who, and the Turks never confessed the culprit.

(Cloud suspected it was Reno. Despite the redhead’s care-not attitude, Cloud knew he was still guilty over Sector 7. And considering the look on his face when Avalanche and the Turks had finally explained the events leading up to Meteorfall, and how much alcohol he had been drinking during the explanations… None of them had been sure how Denzel would react to the information, and the Turks had been slightly restless during the story (the only sign of their nervousness), but Denzel had just listened quietly. He’d spent the next couple of days avoiding everyone as he thought over the information and came to terms with it, then he’d walked up to the Turks, punched Reno as hard as he could in the stomach, and called it even. The Turks weren’t normally overly emotional people, not with their true emotions at least, but for a second Cloud thought that Reno was going to cry from relief. He liked Denzel.)

Cloud sighed. “Well, there’s not much that you can do about it. Trying to defend SOLDIER or the Turks… won’t end well.”

“I know,” Denzel grumbled. “That’s why I haven’t. But I don’t like listening to it.”

He yelped as Cloud ruffled his hair lightly. With a laugh, he brushed Cloud’s hand away.

“Cloud!”

Cloud chuckled. “Tifa in?”

“No,” Denzel shook his head. “She went out to restock. Marlene is still with Barrett, but they’ll be back tomorrow.” Cloud nodded and made his way towards the stairs, pausing when Denzel called, “Oh, Cloud!”

“Hmm?” He glanced back.

“You got a call from Kunsel. He said that he had a package that needed to get to a village near Fort Condor. He said you already had his number.”

“Ah,” Cloud nodded. “Right. Thanks for letting me know, I’ll call him back.”

“Sure.”

Once Cloud had dropped off his baggage, he made his way to the church; taking the opportunity while he was between deliveries. He was unsurprised to see a hooded figure kneeling between the pool and the Buster sword on the alter.

“You called, Kunsel?”

The ex-SOLDIER glanced up, hood and goggles hiding his features from view. “Hey, Cloud. You’re back sooner than I thought you would be.”

“It was a fast delivery.”

“Really?”

“I made it as fast as possible. Faster, when I saw the way some people were acting.”

“You saw what happened?”

Cloud didn’t respond. His expression darkening, he walked over and kneeled by the pool, dropping his hand and allowing his fingers to brush the surface of the water.

“I guess that’s a yes. You were delivering there in New Corel when it happened,” Kunsel murmured.

There was no answer.

With a sigh, the ex-SOLDIER shifted and allowed his legs to dangle off the alter. “Tensions are rising, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Kunsel huffed. “I guess if anyone did, it would be you.”

“Or you,” Cloud retorted, glancing up at him. “Denzel said you had a package for me?”

“Gaia, that kid works fast.”

The blond raised a brow. “He didn’t call back to let you know I was here?”

“No. Kid’s almost as paranoid as me, he doesn’t want to risk the call being traced. It’s not usual behavior to for them to call the client to let them know you’re back, after all. He’s smart, would make a good info broker.”

“So what, have you been camping here waiting for me to get back?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why? I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Nothing more important than this. Anything else I can use my PHS for.”

Cloud’s gaze sharpened. “What’s so important about this?”

“This.” Kunsel pushed himself up off the altar and leapt across the water, landing lightly next to Cloud. “This package right here.” He reached into his cloak out said package. “You have no idea the pains I went through to get these made.”

“What is it?”

“Bangles. I had to do a lot of sneaking them around to get them completely covered, but they make the wearer immune to every status effect possible.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me?” Cloud frowned, accepting the package. “I have the Master Support Materia, remember?

Kunsel froze for a second, then slapped his forehead with a groan. “ _How_ did I forget that?”

Cloud paused putting the package in his pouch. Kunsel didn’t forget things. Kunsel _never_ forgot things. Anything. Ever. “How much sleep are you getting?”

“Not enough,” Kunsel grumbled. “As the most accurate information broker on the planet, I’m spread a little thin trying to keep my network in working order on top of taking client orders.”

“You can’t afford to put it on pause for a day or two?”

Cloud didn’t even have to see Kunsel’s face to know he was giving him a _look_.

“I’m not even going to deign that with an answer, Strife. I’ll deal with it one way or another. At any rate, what’s done is done. Those are made, and I’ll come to you next time I need something like this. Get that to the forest camp. You know where.”

“Alright.”

“Good. How’s Commander Rhapsodos?”

“Fine, last I heard.”

“Good, I have a feeling that we’ll need him soon.”

“Hopefully we won’t.”

“Hopefully. But I’ll be keeping an eye on things just in case, so I’ll let you know if anything new comes up.”

“Thanks. You know how to reach me if you need me.”

“You got it.”

**. . .**

“You’re leaving so soon? You just got back last night.”

“I know.” Cloud glanced over at Tifa. “But I got an emergency delivery.”

“Emergency…?”

“I think it might be medicine or something. He seemed pretty urgent.”

“Medicine? What for?”

Cloud shook his head. He felt a bit guilty lying to Tifa, but this was a secret he wasn’t willing to share with anyone outside of the people directly involved; not even Avalanche. “I don’t know. He’s a regular though, and he hasn’t dealt with any of the shady groups showing up, so I’m not worried.”

Tifa huffed crossly, but smiled. “Alright, if you say so. Come back soon, okay?”

He flashed her a small smile. “I’ll take a few days off after this delivery and help out around the bar.”

“Sounds good. You can help me keep Reno in line.”

“Heh, like you need my help for that.”

“Extra help is always appreciated,” she teased before turning more serious. “Be careful, Cloud. I’ll see you when you get back.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Tell Marlene I’ll be back soon, if she gets here before I do.”

“You got it.”

With another nod, he kicked Fenrir into gear and sped off, heading for the forests near Fort Condor.

**. . .**

Cloud bent low over his bike as he sped towards the forests, reflecting on the events leading up to his first meeting with the crimson commander.

**. .**

_“Kunsel. You needed me for something?”_

_“Hey Cloud, been a while. I see you got my message.”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to pick up your phone.”_

_“I was busy. What did you want to see me about?”_

_“A rumor I picked up, thought you might want to check it out. You remember SOLDIER First Class Genesis Rhapsodos, the Crimson Commander?”_

_“Yeah, what about him?”_

_“He’s still alive. One of my contacts, a former Red Leather member, spotted him just outside Mideel.”_

_“He’s still alive? And why Mideel…?”_

_“Personally, I think that he’s going back to the Banora area. That was his hometown, you know. You happen to know anything about why he’s alive?”_

_Cloud began to shake his head, then paused and began thinking back through Zack’s memories that he had. He slowly shook his head. “No… Zack fought and beat him while we were on the run, at the… Banora caves, I think. But… I don’t know if he killed him or not.”_

_“Probably not, if he’s back. I wonder where he’s been though…” The man glanced over at Cloud. “I’d go investigate myself, but…”_

_“You don’t have the time.”_

_“Pretty much. And besides, if it comes down to a fight, you’re better suited for a confrontation.”_

_Cloud frowned. “Do you think he’s a danger?”_

_“I don’t know. There’s a lot that even I still don’t know about what happened. Go talk to the guys at the forest camp first, though. They’ll probably have their own opinions on what should be done about him.”_

_“Alright.”_

**. .**

Cloud slowed to a halt about two miles into the forest near Fort Condor. A quick glance around showed nothing of interest, but another scan revealed the dark-haired sentry in the tree a little to his right.

“Yo, Strife!”

He nodded in greeting. “Karson.”

The former Second Class leapt down from the tree and landed a couple of feet from him. “It’s been a while. How’ve things been?”

“Fine.” Cloud shrugged slightly.

Karson rolled his eyes at the bland answer. “Uh huh, sure. We heard what happened in New Corel, and that you were there. The guy’s being brought here. Kunsel’s network is sneaking him past all the traffic and stuff. That why you’re here?”

Cloud grimaced at the reminder, but shook his head. “Kunsel sent me with a different delivery.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Cloud pulled out the package, showing it to him. “They’re bangles, four linked materia slots and an immunity to all status effects. Should be enough for everyone, with a few extras for any new arrivals.”

Karson whistled appreciatively. “Nice. He must’ve went to a lot of work to get these.”

“So he said.”

“He doing okay? We haven’t seen him in a while, just know that he’s keeping the intel networks running.”

Cloud sighed. “He’s… doing about as well as can be expected of someone running the world’s largest information network. Or second largest, depending on how large the Turk’s network is.”

“Fair enough. Go ahead and get that to camp. The commander’ll hand ‘em out.”

“He’s running everything, then?”

“Pretty much. Everyone was pretty wary at first, but we got him to spill everything. Before the degradation he was a good leader and we all trusted him. He cared about us. And now that he’s cured, he’s that person again. We’re not holding the insanity caused by the degradation against him. Not much, anyway. Besides, all the major scientists are dead, so we don’t exactly have to worry about being turned into copies anymore.” He shrugged. “Which is basically the reason we gave him the benefit of the doubt in the first place, if you remember.”

“Yeah,” Cloud murmured, “I remember.”

**. .**

_“Hey, thanks for the delivery, Strife! I’ll get these back to the camp. You gonna stick around, or…?”_

_“No.” Cloud shook his head at the ex-SOLDIER. “I have something else to check on before I head back to Edge, and I told Tifa I’d be back in a couple of days.”_

_“Where you headed?”_

_“The Banora caves.”_

_“Ah, looking for Commander Rhapsodos?”_

_Cloud set him a sharp look. “How did you…?”_

_“Kunsel told us to keep an eye out.” Karson shrugged. “In case he showed up. He mentioned that the Commander was spotted near Mideel, so most of us made the logical leap that he was heading back to Banora. It was where he grew up.”_

_With a sigh, Cloud nodded. “Yeah. I thought it would be good to double check, at least.”_

_“Probably is.” Karson nodded sagely, then grinned. “If you find him, send him here.”_

_“Are you sure?” Cloud frowned. “Considering what happened…”_

_“You know what happened?”_

_“I know bits and pieces, even if I was just in the Infantry.” And if those bits and pieces came from Zack’s memories, well, they didn’t need to know that._

_“Heh, well, we already discussed it. Figured we’d at least get his side of the story rather than relying on the information supplied by ShinRa. And we’ll figure out how to deal with him afterwards. SOLDIER dealing with SOLDIER problems and all that.”_

_Cloud eyed him for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, if you’re sure.”_

**. .**

“See you later, yeah?”

Cloud nodded. “I won’t stay long. I told Tifa I was making an emergency delivery, and that I would be back soon.”

The other man waved him off. “Yeah sure, whatever. You know you can hang around as long as you want.”

Cloud shook his head and kicked his motorcycle into gear. “I’ll see you later, Karson.”

Karson smirked and waved him off.

The path was well hidden, but easily found to anyone who used it regularly. Cloud drove along it quickly, ignoring the underbrush along the sides. This close to the camp, all the monsters had been long cleared out.

It was still a little strange, the knowledge that Genesis Rhapsodos was not only alive but was in charge of a large camp of ex-SOLDIERs. Especially considering his attitude when Cloud had found him.

**. .**

_Cloud sped up as he entered the forest of Banora Whites. In the ten years since Shinra had bombed the area, the remaining trees had grown unchecked and turned into a large, dense forest filled with apples and monsters._

_Cloud couldn’t decide if he loved the place or hated it._

_On one hand, it was a good place for releasing frustrations on particularly bad days, having a lot of decent but low level monsters to tear through, as well as being isolated from people. On the other, it had quite a few bad memories that he had carried over from Zack, and they gave the place a bad stigma for him._

_He had no interest in fighting monsters now, however. He was here on a mission, and he had a specific destination in mind._

_Every now and then he would have to kill a monster that attacked him, but he had an All paired with his Master Magic, which worked well enough to keep his journey unhindered. It didn’t take him long to reach the caves._

_He turned off Fenrir, comfortable in the knowledge that monsters wouldn’t touch it unless he was on it. He locked First Tsurugi together and clipped it to the relatively new magnet on his back. With no idea how the former First Class would react, he wasn’t taking any chances._

_It took a bit of exploring (and finding some new materia to take back to the forest camp) before Cloud found himself at the entrance of a large cave, with a giant broken statue and a piece of red materia that was larger than any he had ever seen. Even the Huge materia couldn’t hold a candle to this._

_Standing in front of the pile of collapsed stone, back to the cave entrance, was a red-cloaked man with red hair. He must have heard Cloud coming, for he began speaking without turning around._

_“_ There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds _.”_

_“LOVELESS.”_

_“Act II,” the man agreed, turning around. “So, we finally meet.”_

_“We’ve met before.”_

_“Have we? I saw you, but you had no awareness of the event.”_

_“No,” Cloud murmured. “I didn’t.”_

_Genesis Rhapsodos examined him thoughtfully. “You look like a SOLDIER now. When I last saw you, you still looked somewhat like an Infantryman.”_

_“I’ve changed over the years.”_

_“Clearly.” The Crimson Commander eyed him, hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. “So, what does the hero of the Planet want from me?”_

_Cloud narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know, if I see him I’ll ask. I want to know what you’re planning on doing.”_

_Genesis raised a brow. “Oh? So you don’t consider yourself a hero?”_

_“That’s a description for Zack, not for me.”_

_“Yes, I suppose so. So then, what are you doing here?”_

_Cloud eyed him warily. “Looking for you. The remainders of SOLDIER have started gathering together for protection, and they want to talk to you.”_

_“Oh?” Genesis shifted his weight back, tilting his head thoughtfully. “I suppose they want my head for everything that happened.”_

_“No,” Cloud frowned, “they want to know the full story of what happened. They want to know the truth, not the lies filtered through ShinRa.”_

_The redhead hummed, considering. “Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. And you came to retrieve me for them?”_

_“No, I came to verify the rumor that you were still alive for Kunsel.”_

_As he was hoping, dropping the info broker’s name gave Genesis a pause. “I see. So,” the ex-commander tossed his head, “he still has an insatiable need to know everything.”_

_Cloud narrowed his eyes. “He’s what’s keeping accurate information circulating across the Planet, and what’s keeping all of the remaining SOLDIERs from being persecuted every time they make an appearance anywhere. And even that bit of protection is starting to wear thin.”_

_Genesis eyed him thoughtfully, noting his clipped tone. “So, do the SOLDIERs actually want the full story, or do they want me to come lead their gathering? Because I rather doubt that I’m in any position to be a leader any longer. I’ve…” His eyes flickered to the side. “… failed too many.”_

_“I don’t know. They didn’t tell me.” Cloud turned and started walking away. “You’ll have to ask them yourself.”_

_There was a surprised silence for a moment before hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Genesis fell into step beside him, watching him curiously._

_“You were serious about simply investigating a rumor.”_

_“I don’t do search and capture, or search and destroy. Not people, least. I eliminate the occasional monster if it starts terrorizing a village, but mostly I deliver, I investigate, and occasionally I rescue. I investigated you and delivered the message. My job here is done. What you do from here is your decision.”_

_Genesis caught his arm, staring at his face searchingly. “You’re… nothing like I expected.”_

_“I get that a lot.”_

_The redhead was silent as he followed Cloud out of the caves. As they reached Cloud’s bike, he spoke up. “Where is the camp? If they wish to… speak with me… then I need to be able to find them.” It was obvious, both by his tone and by his expression, that he wasn’t expecting for them to actually listen to his story._

_The fact that he was going anyway, despite seemingly expecting to be killed or persecuted, spoke more about his character than any of his previous actions in Cloud’s mind._

_He slung a leg over his bike and slid his sword into its compartments. With a glance towards Genesis, he indicated the seat behind him. “Get on. You’ll never find it on your own, they’ve hidden it too well for that.”_

_Genesis stared at him in stunned silence for a moment. At Cloud’s raised eyebrow, he hesitantly followed the instructions, settling on the back of the bike and raising his hands. He seemed unsure where to put them. Rolling his eyes, Cloud pulled the man forward to settle his arms around the blond’s waist. The redhead spluttered in surprise, but didn’t let go._

_“If you don’t hold on, you’ll fall off. I made Fenrir for myself, so it’s built for a SOLDIER. It goes too fast for someone to just sit on the back.” He glanced back, taking in Genesis’ wary look towards the wheels and ground. “Have you never ridden a motorcycle before?”_

_“It’s never been necessary. ShinRa always provided other transport, and when I left I had a wing for my own transport.”_

_Cloud sighed. “Just don’t let go and you won’t have to worry about falling off.” He slid a hand fondly along the front of his bike. “He can handle a lot of rough treatment, and since I doubt you want to be recognized we won’t be taking the roads.” He pulled his goggles on. “Cross country is faster anyway. Keep an eye out for monsters, though. They like to attack me when I don’t stay on the roads.”_

_He smirked slightly at Genesis’ apprehensive look. It wasn’t as bad as he made it out, but he was feeling a bit vindictive thanks to the redhead’s part in the events surrounding Sephiroth’s fall from grace. If he could get a bit of mostly harmless revenge, well, who was going to tell him no?_

**. .**

The various SOLDIERs relaxing around the camp glanced up as Cloud came to a stop at the end of the road. He nodded to them as they called out greetings, making his way to the large canvas pavilion in the center of the camp. Tents were pitched in a large circular area around the center, in both the clearing and the surrounding trees. A few of the more adventurous souls had pitched tents up in the trees themselves, earning them all various bird nicknames. “The Nesters” was affectionately used to refer to the lot of them. They accepted it with pride.

Cloud found Genesis eyeing a map and various spreadsheets on the large table. A couple of former First Classes were with him, and Cloud picked up the tail end of a conversation about supplies and restocking as he drew near.

“You know you can always ask Kunsel. He probably has information about the best and most covert places to get large amounts of supplies.”

“Yes, most likely,” Genesis agreed, absently holding out his hand for the package he knew Cloud was delivering. “However, I’d like to avoid relying too much on him all the time. I’m sure he’s already spread thin enough without needless concern about our ability to gain the necessary supplies.”

“Yeah, probably,” Cloud sighed, handing over the bangles. “He went through an enormous amount of effort to get those bangles immune to every status effect available because he forgot that he could ask me to use the Master Support Materia.”

All three of the former SOLDIERs froze, looking up to stare at him incredulously.

“Kunsel _forgot_?”

“Yeah.” Cloud ran a hand through his hair with a grimace.

“I… didn’t think that someone with perfect photographic memory could forget anything.” One of the First Classes mused, bewildered.

Cloud shook his head. “He refused to tell me how much sleep he was getting, so I’m sure that’s part of it.”

Genesis sighed, raising a hand to rub his the bridge of his nose. “Next time you see him, tell him that if he gets less than four hours of sleep a night more than three days a week, I’m going to forcefully confine him to camp for a week.”

“I’ll pass the message along.” Cloud hid a smile at Genesis’ obvious concern. The man’s constant concern for his men was reassuring, considering his past actions. It was something that set them all a bit at ease. Though from what he’d heard, Genesis was different in more than just that respect.

He’d always looked out for his men, up until the degradation incident, but he didn’t really get involved with them very much. He took responsibility for them, and he motivated them, but he’d been distant and didn’t really get to know them. On top of that, he’d been well known for having an explosive temper. When Cloud had been a Cadet there had been all sorts of horror stories about him, and how he would set any Cadet to annoyed him on fire. Granted they had just been rumors in the Cadet barracks, but it was a fact that even those in SOLDIER itself had been wary of the man’s temper.

Now, from what he’d heard, Genesis knew every SOLDIER in the camp by name, face, former position and class, and their general backstories, as well as having much firmer control of his temper.

“I saw that, Strife.”

“Saw what?”

“You know what.”

Cloud didn’t bother hiding his smirk. “It’s just good to see your settling into your role. For someone who isn’t really in any position to be a leader anymore.”

Genesis sent him an unamused scowl. “It certainly wasn’t something I was _expecting_. Though it’s not very hard to get used to it again and settle back into the role. Something you’re already aware of, I’m sure.”

“Not really. Most of the large-scale dangerous events haven’t taken long enough for me to actually start taking charge. We usually finish up fairly quickly.”

“ _There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds._ ”

“Could you be _any_ more passive-aggressive?”

“I don’t know, do you think I should try?”

“It’s kind of like watching an old married couple, isn’t it?” Jared, one of the First Classes (and an old friend to Cloud from the Infantry), murmured to Lynall, the other.

“A bit, yes,” Lynall murmured. “Some people just click, I guess.”

Genesis and Cloud both snorted, Genesis sending them a glare and Cloud rolling his eyes.

“Keep talking and I’ll put you both on latrine duty.”

They both cringed, and Cloud gave them a sympathetic wince. With enhanced senses that was… even more horrible of a job.

“At any rate, I’ll make sure that the bangles are spread to everyone. Are you staying for food or are you heading back to Edge?” Genesis glanced over at Cloud.

He hesitated for a moment, considering. It was tempting. It was always nice to be around other ex-SOLDIERs. Even if he’d technically never made SOLDIER, he had the enhancements and some of the memories.

He played it off as having been told stories by Zack. Genesis and Kunsel were the only ones who knew how deep Cloud’s connection with Zack ran. Likewise, Cloud was the only one who knew the full extent of just how close Genesis had been to Angeal and Sephiroth, and knew what was said by Genesis to push Sephiroth over the edge. They’d extended the trip to the camp a little to talk through the events that happened and make peace with their respective ghosts. They’d argued, at one point they’d even drawn their swords and fought, but in the end they’d settled the events and their differences and worked around them.

He was always welcome here and he knew that, and it was nice, because as much as he cared for Seventh Heaven and Avalanche and the kids… they just didn’t really get it. The Turks did, but they had been part of the problem and they were still a bit wary around him. With the others, Cloud had to worry about his enhancements. If he wasn’t careful with his strength he could hurt them, or if he moved too fast he would make them jumpy and nervous. Well, Avalanche at least. The kids thought it was cool. But the members of the former anti-ShinRa group didn’t like to be reminded that he was something a little more than human. Vincent and Nanaki didn’t mind of course, and Shelke was similar to him, but the fully human members… If they weren’t fighting for their lives, they didn’t want to remember that he used to work for ShinRa, that he was stronger than humanly possible.

So it was tempting. But he’d told Tifa that it would be quick, and he knew that Denzel was missing Marlene. So he shook his head. “Not this time. I told Tifa that it was an emergency delivery, and that I would be back soon. Maybe next time.”

“Maybe.” And Genesis sent him that smile that he’d been getting more often, a mixture of wicked heat and soft warmth and hope that did things to his heart and head. He felt his face start to warm up, and cursed his pale complexion and increased pulse rate. “I’d say to give the Turks my regards, but I’m supposed to be dead.”

“I could always say that you passed the message through Aerith.”

“You could, but where’s the fun in that?”

“Where, huh?” Cloud murmured.

Genesis winked at him. “I’ll see you at the next delivery, Cloud.”

“Yeah,” he hesitated for a moment, “Stay safe, Genesis.” He spun around and walked off, making his way to Fenrir as quickly as he could without seeming in a hurry.

He paused as his phone buzzed, and flipped it open to see a text from Kunsel.

_From: Kunsel_

_You know, eventually you two are going to have to stop dancing around each other and actually do something about it. Preferably each other._

Cloud’s face heated up even more as he sent a quick reply before he closed his phone and started Fenrir to head back to Edge, not even questioning Kunsel's knowledge anymore.

When it reached Kunsel, the info broker rolled his eyes in annoyance. The hero of the world could be quite a handful at times.

_From: Cloud_

_I really don’t know what you’re talking about._

Sure he didn’t. The look on his face in the video Lynall sent him said otherwise. Why he and Genesis were dancing around each other when they were both aware of the mutual feelings… Though maybe that was a bit obvious.

Kunsel sighed and looked down at the newest newspaper, giving only a vague explanation on what had happened in New Corel. Things were getting complicated and dangerous, and the last thing they needed was a potentially volatile relationship getting caught up in the mix.

“Well, it won’t stop the men from placing bets,” Kunsel murmured, folding the paper and sliding it in his bag. At any rate, he had more important things to do than speculate on romances.

Trouble was brewing in the WRO, and he had a very bad feeling that they were about to have to weather a storm.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 complete!
> 
> This is very fun, I have to admit. I don’t write Kunsel enough, but he’s so much fun. Denzel too. I have plans for Denzel.  
> And I didn’t plan for Cloud and Genesis to be that couple that everyone knows about their mutual pining and the most common response is “they need to just kiss already!”. Or I did, but I didn’t plan for them to be… flirty about it. Especially not yet. It was supposed to be an almost slow burn, for the first few chapters at least. They were supposed to be mostly oblivious to their own feelings and each others. They’re not. At all. They just know that a volatile romance mixed with a volatile situation is a very bad idea. They might work out to be that perfect couple. They don’t want to risk it. So mutual pining it is! For now. That’ll change once the pace of the story picks up.
> 
> I like writing mature Genesis. He’s easy to write, because he’s gotten over his jealousy issues. I can’t write jealousy. At all. I… don’t really get jealous, so… I have trouble empathizing. Mature Genesis is snarky and sassy and confident, but he’s learned humility and guilt, so he isn’t obsessed with being the strongest anymore.
> 
> Anyway, this is definitely a story I’m enjoying. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Wings, out~!


End file.
